Is it possible to have your cake and eat it too? Federal Labor is certainly giving it a go by supporting government plans for a fossil gas/diesel peaking plant in the Hunter Valley currently under construction – as long as the plant switches to green hydrogen by 2030.

Construction has commenced on an off-grid solar PV and battery energy storage system which will help power Australian-headquartered resource major BHP’s estimated $1 billion Nickel West mining operation in regional Western Australia.

Australia’s largest petroleum company Ampol has revealed its ambition to expand into the nation’s energy market by submitting an application to the industry regulator for licences to retail electricity and gas in Australia.

The New South Wales Government is forging ahead with plans to bring 12 GW of renewable energy and 2 GW of storage online by 2030 with the formal declaration of Australia’s second coordinated renewable energy zone in as many months.

Remote power generation specialist Zenith Energy will build upon its renewable energy options at Western Australian miner IGO’s Nova nickel site to demonstrate it is possible to use 100% renewables to meet the demands of an operational mine site.

Australian oil and gas exploration and development company Elixir Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mongolia Green Finance Corporate to support financing for the first phase of a proposed green hydrogen project planned for the South Gobi region of the East Asia nation.

Victorian network utility AusNet Services appears certain to be entirely foreign owned after shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale of the company to a consortium led by Canadian asset management group Brookfield.

Australian financial institution Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has turned to solar PV to improve its bottom line with a 200 kW rooftop system installed atop its major corporate site in Bendigo in regional Victoria.

Renewables have continued their rise in Australia’s energy market with a new report published by the Australian Energy Market Operator revealing grid-scale solar, wind, hydro and rooftop solar PV provided almost one-third of the National Electricity Market’s power needs during the December quarter.

Singapore’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund GIC has made a “strategic” investment in renewables developer InterContinental Energy, one of the major players behind mega solar and wind-powered green hydrogen projects planned for Western Australia’s Pilbara and southeast regions.